Housing Cause Denialists baying at...

The full Wallison (Peter) who has a new book;  Hidden in Plain Sight: What Really Caused the World’s Worst Financial Crisis and Why It Could Happen Again.

Some samples of the scholarship; If you're in the mood for fiction, read this book. On second thought, read Harry Potter. At least J.K. Rowling has the decency to tell her readers it's made up before they begin.

And; I read this hoping that someone would finally do the right thing and expose the truth on how the big banks and our politicians unwittingly engineered a system that fostered unbridled greed, fraud, and disastrous leverage. Instead, this author promotes the narrative that our politicians and big banks fabricated in 08' to cover the truth.. namely that they we're in bed with each other and to deflect and disguise the truth, they enlisted wall street elites to promote the lie that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were the culprit.

And; Peter, which TBTF bank funded this book? Come on now, this is your chance to tell the truth.

And; It was Hank Paulson that seized Fannie and Freddie and put them in conservatorship to force these institutions to buy these illiquid, sub-prime loan-backed securities from the financial system to improve the flow of capital. These people including Wallison want to pass the blame and want to kill the GSE's to give the mortgage business to the same people that crashed the system,

It smells like collusion and corruption of the highest order. This book serves no value in the purpose of enlightening the public. Thumbs down!

And;  Just saw this shill for the banksters on CNBC where moron Joe Kernen fawned all over him as the font of all truth, knowledge, wisdom and the American Way. If you think Kernen knows his head from his rear, then this is the book for you - more detritus for the sheeple to graze on. For others, one is left to ponder why AEI doesn't do something about its cockroach infestation.

There are worse, but HSIB is merciful. Fortunately there is a review from someone who actually has first hand knowledge of the matter, Mark Calabria. He is a former Senate staffer of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, as well as a former Deputy Asst. Sec'y at HUD, and he thinks Wallison's book is well worth a read;

...anyone interested in the financial crisis should read this book. It is extensively documented and well-written. While the narrative is similar to other of Wallison’s writings, he musters far more evidence for his case here. The amount of contemporaneous material from advocates, HUD and the GSEs (Fannie and Freddie) is impressive. Its great history (even if sometimes painful to re-live).

I’ve generally been on the fence about the housing goals, as I have felt that GSE leverage was a far greater issue. The book leaves me more sympathetic to Wallison’s argument. For the best counter-argument regarding the goals, see former FHA Commissioner John Weicher’s paper on the issue written for the St. Louis Fed..

Whaaat? Read both sides and then make up your mind. Hey, who invited this guy in?